TOTHK - Springsteen "Born To Run"
As a former resident of the Garden State who has spent more time driving on Highway 9 and
other similar state highways than any random thousand Bruce fans combined (and yes, engaged
in traffic light drag-racing thereon), may possibly have only two degrees of separation from him,
and knew about Freehold long before he became nationally famous, I have to say I just don't get
his over-the-top popularity.
Sure, he's okay. I wouldn't turn down free tickets. There are plenty of worse bands. But really...
Maybe it's because I went to school with too many "Bruces." Maybe it's because I knew the
area too well to ever see it in a romanticized rosy glow. (In fact, that rosy glow comes from
the refineries et. al. in the industrial waste land in communities that surround Port Elizabeth.
"Kiss me where it smells," she said. So I took her to Secaucus.)
Bruce is just another New Jersey punk that happened to luck out and make it big.
